This is the eleventh set of shots in the California Spiders series. If you'd like to see them all, then just go ahead and click here to go back to #1.

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Family Salticidae aka Jumping Spiders

While supposedly common around these parts, I've had a heck of a time finding any of them until now. This little bitty one finally just showed up on our wall while the wife and I sat outside eating our breakfast. They're pretty crazy little guys that don't tend to hold still for very long, which makes them hard to shoot. What strikes me the most about them is their gigantic eyes, which are apparently built to give them high resolution, telephoto vision for hunting. And, of course, they do crouch down, hold their front two legs out in the air, and then jump a few good inches - which is impressive when you consider that this guy was just a fraction of an inch long. Very unique little creatures.